The reporting of box office numbers has been a strange thing since 2020. While we still need to use “pandemic-era” to release these films, an impressive number is still something to celebrate. That’s precisely what Vin Diesel and his family are doing this weekend as F9 has broken pandemic-era records!
Justin Lin’s F9: The Fast Saga is looking at an impressive $70 million debut at the weekend box office, which is a pandemic-era record for North America. This opening is ahead of 2019’s Hobbs & Shaw $60 million launch but coming in way under the $98.8 million start of The Fate of the Furious. Only time will tell if the F9 opening number is a sign of franchise fatigue or simply a product of being released in such a strange time for cinemas.
In North America, this is the highest opening weekend since Star Wars: Episode IX – The Rise of Skywalker in 2019. F9 opened in 4,179 theaters in North America, the widest count for any film opening in recent months. For reference, Rise of Skywalker opened in 4,406 theaters and grossed $177 million across its first weekend.
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Globally, this brings the latest installment in the Fast and Furious franchise to $400 million. At the time of reporting, F9 will soon pass Godzilla vs Kong as the third highest-grossing film of 2021.
Vin Diesel’s Dom Toretto is leading a quiet life off the grid with Letty and his son, little Brian, but they know that danger always lurks just over their peaceful horizon. This time, that threat will force Dom to confront the sins of his past if he’s going to save those he loves most. His crew joins together to stop a world-shattering plot led by the most skilled assassin and high-performance driver they’ve ever encountered: a man who also happens to be Dom’s forsaken brother, Jakob (John Cena, the upcoming The Suicide Squad).
The action hurtles around the globe—from London to Tokyo, from Central America to Edinburgh, and from a secret bunker in Azerbaijan to the teeming streets of Tbilisi. Along the way, old friends will be resurrected, old foes will return, history will be rewritten, and the true meaning of family will be tested like never before.
Fast & Furious 9 sees Justin Lin directing a cast that includes Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Ludacris, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Nathalie Emmanuel, Sung Kang, Michael Rooker, Helen Mirren, Kurt Russell, and Charlize Theron.
